US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, seem convinced that the Kremlin will accept peace guarantees for Ukraine, and trade agreements with Russia will become another link in these guarantees. Meanwhile, one of the US representatives emphasized in the talks that “there is no such thing as permanent allies or permanent enemies,” notes “The Economist” in an article on the peace talks in Berlin published on Tuesday.
“Such statements can only deepen suspicions. Does Donald Trump now feel less obliged to European allies and intends to hug Russia?” — writes the British weekly and recalls that American negotiators said that the offer of security guarantees “will not be on the table forever.”
According to Economist journalists, the leaders' statements after the meeting in Berlin “seem definitely too optimistic.” “Security guarantees depend on the unspecified deployment of the armies of European countries that have too few available troops, probably under the leadership of America, whose willingness to defend Ukraine is questionable,” we read in the article.
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British weekly peace negotiations magazine. “The ball is in the Russians' court”
“The Economist” points out that the US promises to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in line with Art. 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty “mean less and less in a world where America's attachment to NATO itself is unclear.”
“Either way, the ball is now in the Russians' court,” the weekly reminds and adds that Vladimir Putin may agree to territorial concessions if he believes that it will break up Ukraine and separate the US from the rest of NATO.
However, former US ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder, who was quoted by the Economist, believes that “there is no chance that Vladimir Putin will accept NATO's security guarantees or presence in Ukraine.” — the efforts of the American delegation conducting peace talks are attempts to please Trump, not to obtain a real agreement – says the newspaper's interlocutor.
